Speaking at the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stressed that APEC has 21 member economies, accounting for 39% of the world population, 57% of GDP and nearly 50% of global trade. The strength of each APEC economy makes an important contribution to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), accounting for about 97% of businesses, generating 60% of employment and more importantly as a motivation of growth, innovation and creativity in APEC member economies.
The 24th APEC Small and Medium Enterprise Ministerial Meeting with the theme of "Capacity building for Competitiveness and Innovation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the Digital Age" is one of the four priorities of APEC 2017, expressing the desire of Vietnam to cooperate with its member partners to create favorable conditions for SMEs in the region to create opportunities, access information network and global market in the digital age.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution with the advent of new technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), advanced robots, nanotechnology, 3D printing technology, etc is changing the way we think, the way we make material things, and the lives of people in the world. In that trend, SMEs with limited technology, financial capacity, and management are the most vulnerable, but they are also the most dynamic and adaptable. Therefore, it is necessary to actively support the development of this type of enterprise in order to expand the scale, promote technology innovation, increase productivity and contribute to socio-economic development.
According to Vietnam's Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, the strides of digital technology, the ever-changing global economy, new opportunities and conditions for SMEs is laying down requirements for SME supporting agencies. This also requires them to keep abreast of the digital age, create a favorable environment, and apply rational supporting methods to promote the innovation and development of SMEs.
In the context of the 4.0 revolution, the impact of digital technology is spreading to businesses and people, the National Assembly of Vietnam has issued the Law on Supporting SME; The Government of Vietnam has made many important decisions to build a healthy business environment for SMEs. Not only encourage business freedom, creative freedom but also create safety for investors; not only make low transaction cost but low risk; Investors and businesses are honored for their creativity, success and contribution to the society.
In the integration trend, Vietnam also focuses on cooperating with APEC member economies on strengthening the tax system in order to promote business production, fair competition, and prevent conflicts on transfer pricing, tax paying avoidance, etc. of some foreign investors. Senior experts study the establishment of a fund to encourage SMEs to strengthen connections with corporations, multinational companies, join the global value chain.
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